A PRISONER who died after setting himself alight in his cell in Victoria Prison screamed in agony for 10 minutes before staff came to his rescue, according to witnesses.
Inmates who saw the grisly scene at 9pm on August 3 have told police that Evis Ose, 32, from Nigeria, had been left locked in his cell with matches and bedding for 12 hours a day even though he had written a note to prison officials threatening to commit suicide.
As thick smoke from burning bedding and flesh filled the second floor of E block, other inmates hit the emergency buttons in their cells but no alarm went off, only a red light in the outside corridor.
The alarm system had been disconnected because a Vietnamese inmate had earlier abused it, police were told.
John Donald Chukwuzitere, president of the Nigerians in Hong Kong Association, said: 'The Nigerian people in Hong Kong are very worried about this incident.' He said he hoped a thorough investigation into the death would be completed as soon as possible.
Ose died of massive burns and kidney failure 10 days later. Doctors at Queen Mary Hospital were unable to save him despite amputating a leg and an arm.
Inmates say that Ose had earlier goaded guards by demanding a drink of water in his cell, which may have led guards to think the shouts of 'fire' were just a trick to get them to come back on to the second floor.
